October 26, 2013

There’s a very nice piece in the SmartBlog on Education called, “And still we can wander.” Author Stuart Grauer (Real Teachers) writes about learning through the mind of a student with ADHD. He says, “ADHD-types are on topic, maybe just not the required topic.” That’s because when they take off on a topic, they want to learn everything and diverge into their own discovery leaps.

Grauer knows that many teachers consider this an inability to concentrate, evidence of distractibility, and/or impulsive behavior. There are, what he calls, “dream-catcher” teachers who allow space for students to digress and to venture into the ideas that come into their minds. These are the types of teachers that ADHD students—and perhaps all students—need. Grauer has found that if ADHD students are granted space to explore, to learn in a non-linear way, that most of these students will return their attention to the content being taught.

May 20, 2013

Brain Parade’s See. Touch. Learn ™
garnered the “Mostly Likely to Succeed” award at Ed Tech Summit 2013. According
to Karen Billings, vice president of SIAA (Software and Information Industry
Association) Education Division, “Brain Parade shows tremendous promise for
shaping the future of technology in education, especially for those with
special needs.”This innovative app
gives those working with children the ability to create “personalized” lessons,
which will help them with communication skills. Students use iPads to learn
from high-quality images and lessons created by a behavioral analyst. You can
download a free copy from iTunes, but if you’d like the full version with
advanced features and over 4400 images and 2200 exercises, you’ll want the Pro
version, which is priced at $34.99.

April 30, 2013

Science
Daily reports that about two to three students in every classroom (up to
10% of all children) have some type of learning disability, and many have
several disabilities. The study says, for example, that children who are
hyperactive often struggle with dyslexia and about eleven percent of them have
dyscalculia. The research was completed in order to offer a better
“understanding of how individual differences in brain development interact with
formal education” and how such knowledge can help adapt learning to the needs
of the students, which may be achieved through use of technologies.

February 18, 2013

McGraw-Hill’s LearnSmart
is a personal digital tutor, which detects what students need to know in order
to help them achieve their best. Called the “smartest adaptive engine in the
industry”, this interactive product has been used in colleges and is now ready
for high school use. With it, students
increase the effectiveness of their studies outside of class which will help
them be better prepared for classes and improve retention, grades, and
engagement in their studies. Launched in
February 2013, LearnSmart currently offers biology, U.S. History, Spanish, and
A.P. and honors subjects; additional study areas will be available in the
months after the launch.

A study
of community college students using Learn Smart showed significant
improvement in retention and pass rates. So far, no studies have targeted high
school students, but expectations for success of the product are high.

January 19, 2013

Thomas Armstrong’s book, Neurodiversity
in the Classroom, from ASCD focuses on
helping students with learning disabilities, autism, hyperactivity disorder,
intellectual disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disorders. Armstrong
believes in strength-based strategies that focus on what these children can do,
not what they can’t do. In the book’s chapters, he discusses the joys of ADHD,
the gifts of autism, the strengths of students with intellectual disabilities,
the multiple talents of the learning disabled, and the bright side of students
with emotional and behavioral disorders. Armstrong points to the success of
famous people in the sciences, arts, entertainment, sports, politics, military,
business, and literature, who suffered from disorders such as hyperactivity,
autism, and emotional and behavioral problems. The book contains “Strengths”
Checklists, which educators can use to identify each student’s strengths.

December 10, 2012

ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development) has released the Thomas Armstrong book, Neurodiversity
in the Classroom: Strength-Based Strategies to Help Students with Special Needs
Succeed in School and Life. Available in both paperback and as an
eBook, the book explores cutting-edge research featuring the strengths of
students who have learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, and intellectual,
emotional, and behavioral disorders. Included are success stories about
neurodiverse adults who have achieved success. Information is given on computer
apps and strength-based learning strategies.

November 02, 2012

On 11/07/12, beginning at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, ISTE
(International Society for Technology in Education) will offer the Webinar, iPad Apps to Support Learners
Who Struggle with Reading and/or Writing. The 60-minute learning
session ($39 for members, $99 for non-members) will explore how to use a set of
iPads to help “learners of all ages to
overcome barriers to reading and writing. “ Those attending will learn about
free and inexpensive apps to use with students who are experiencing learning
problems and also about the accessibility features available on iPads. Teacher
Paul Hamilton, who works with schools on Vancouver Island, will lead the
session.

March 08, 2012

PresenceLearning offers a free download of its white paper, Can Online Speech Therapy Improve IEP Outcomes? Considering a shortage of speech therapists in schools, the paper shows how online therapy is effective and affordable. It helps to relieve high caseloads while giving students the individualized help and practice they need. If you would like to review case studies, academic studies, and success stories, go to the PresenceLearning site.

February 17, 2012

Although the Edutopia article, “From the Classroom: What Does Blended Learning Look Like?” (February 8, 2012), gives an example of a high school English class, the ideas in the piece by teacher Melissa Meyers, should be of interest to all teachers. Meyers, who teaches in a private K-12 special education school, discusses the teaching of Dante’s work with her Grade 12 World Literature class. Her students, even though they have disabilities such as severe dyslexia, writing disorders, and speech and language difficulties, are taken to Hell through the Website Virtual Inferno, which leads them on a journey through the nine levels. They play Dante’s Inferno video game using it as a step off to their research and writing. “Franz Liszt’s A Symphony to Dante’s Divide Comedy is accompanied by Gustave Dore’s illustrations on Youtube, and ... Dante-era Florence through the “Firenze-Virtual History” iPad app.” To help with their reading of the Inferno, they have it available as an audio book on their iPads. That’s what blended learning is all about—integrating technologies in order to invigorate learning.

November 21, 2011

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is available at the iTunes store for $4.99. The reviews are excellent; in fact, it is rated #1 in the iPad App Store. Author William Joyce, who previously worked at Pixar, created this book, which is being called a mixture of a wonderful bedtime story and an animated movie. It includes interactive interfaces, which children may or may not use. The “book” lets children explore as they want through the “book” with or without music, voiceover, and embedded features. If you are interested, you can take a look at the trailer for a glimpse of what Mr. Lessmore has to offer. I think you’ll like it. And, by the way, it is also a favorite of the orangutans at the Milwaukee and Houston zoos who are using iPads as part of enrichment exercises.